Is poverty the reason Luo Nyanza people hate their shags

That Luo Nyanza is predominantly an opposition stronghold for ages is not a secret but again it is claimed that most Luos who have somewhat made it in life hate visiting their rural home.

Fred Gori examines the root causes of the much claimed poverty in Luo Nyanza and what are the likely remedies especially with the county governments.

A lot has been said about the general underdevelopment of what the media has come to refer to as ‘Luo Nyanza.” Apparently, the Kisii and Kuria areas have been traditionally uncomfortable about being lumped together with River-Lake neighbours and would rather stand apart as ‘less troublesome and as the beacons of light and progress in a region of backwardness.’

Having made that distinction, I must say I do not believe that Luo Nyanza is the poorest region in Kenya as often portrayed by arm-chair analysts.

Its role as the ‘opposition community’ and a thorn in the flesh of every government since independence has opened it up to more scrutiny with critics seeking to portray its elected leadership as too immersed in negative politics to be development-good.

We are a developing country that has squandered many opportunities for greatness. With the exception of a few pockets here and there, a majority of Kenyans actually live on less than $2 a day.

In other words, we are poor. We are doing badly in virtually all indicators of development, from education to health, from access to financial services to infant mortality.

The purpose of this article, therefore, is not to pick out Luo Nyanza for any special reason but to demonstrate that Migori, Homa Bay, Kisumu and Siaya have the potential to end the burden of disease and poverty.

Many middle-class people with roots in the region often feel insulted when Luo-Nyanza is mentioned in the same sentence as poverty and underdevelopment.

The last time these folks visited the village was fifteen years ago when grandpa died and everyone was required to show up.

Those of us who were born and bred in the Luo-Nyanza villages know only too well how degrading poverty and squalor can be.

In fact, many of us wouldn’t have amounted to much if someone had not held our hands and gave us the opportunity to redefine the course of our lives.

The coming of devolution was quite timely. After lamenting for many years about being deliberately targeted and marginalized by successive administrations, county governments came into office in 2013 and with it, billions of shillings that we could only dream about when we were growing up.

Four years later, we need to take stock to ensure that devolution is working works for us.

We have to be vigilant enough to ensure resources are being used prudently in areas where it impacts the highest number of people and yields the biggest returns.

Vices such as corruption, discrimination on the basis of clan, nepotism, and hiring of relatives and friends, should never be tolerated.

It is ironic that a community that has fought for good governance for as long as Kenya has been in existence can now tolerate the very vices it fought against.

Luo Nyanza counties must hire the best talent available to deliver the best services. They must frown on corruption and demonstrate on the streets against it whenever it is suspected.

No individual, whether it is the Governors or their acolytes should be allowed to enrich themselves at the expense of the majority.

They must frown on corruption and demonstrate on the streets against it whenever it is suspected. No individual, whether it is the Governors or their acolytes should be allowed to enrich themselves at the expense of the majority.

The second point is critical. No people can develop without enterprise. If you look at the history of the United States, for instance, it is the small businesses which made America great.

Some of the small businesses grew to become global conglomerates that today employ thousands, even millions of people.

It is should be known that the government’s (including the county government) role is not to employ citizens but to create an environment that supports an enterprise. It is enterprises that create jobs.

This spirit of enterprise, the daring spirit, the risk taking in a bid to improve lives has been rather thin in Luo Nyanza.

But we must not accept the narrative that that’s our nature. Here’s an opportunity for the four counties to get into a partnership for the promotion of private enterprise.

Let’s identify teachers throughout the region who can teach entrepreneurship from kindergarten all the way to secondary school. L

Let them develop an aggressive behaviour towards business at an early age. Let’s support clubs in schools that give kids opportunity to engage in practical entrepreneurship.

I cannot emphasise this enough. Get adults into groups through which they can learn to run small businesses and release them to go and conquer. Some will succeed, others will fail but we got to do it.

If I were to advise the county governments, I would prioritise human resources above all. Infrastructure should meet people who are prepared to take advantage of it. And let’s catch them young.

Dependency syndrome is killing our people. You find one man in the family who is recently employed in Nairobi. Suddenly everyone- brothers, cousins, parents, friends, village people and acquaintances, develop a parasitic relationship with him/her.

He gets calls daily with requests for cash and other forms of assistance. Some even fake illness so that money can be sent. How can this man save and invest if most of his money goes to supporting a whole village?

Only entrepreneurship can end this culture.

The writer, Fred Gori, consults on development communication and is based in Nairobi, Kenya. The opinion expressed in the article are his and do not represent that of TUKO.co.ke. We welcome opinion articles through news@tuko.co.ke